Teen prodigy to perform with symphony

SALT LAKE CITY — World renowned guest conductor Andrey Boreyko and teenage piano prodigy Conrad Tao will join the Utah Symphony for a program featuring two Russian masterpieces.

Tao, 17, who is hailed by Musical America as "the most exciting prodigy to ever come (our) way," will perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Boreyko and the orchestra on Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Brigham Young University's deJong Concert Hall, as well as Jan. 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall. The program will also include Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, one of the composer's most popular and influential orchestral works.

Boreyko regularly conducts leading European and American orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Russian National, Zurich Tonhalle, London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras.

Tao has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Dallas and Baltimore Symphonies, among others. He has given solo recitals at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Ravinia Festival, the Verbier Festival, UC Berkeley's Cal Performance Series, the Gilmore Series, and has toured Italy, Mexico, Chile, Russia, China and Singapore.

Tickets for the evening performances range from $17 to $51 and can be purchased by calling 801-355-2787, in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office or by visiting www.usuo.org. Students can purchase discounted tickets with a student ID. Season ticket holders and those desiring group discounts should call 801-533-6683. Ticket prices will increase $5 on the day of the performance.